1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for mounting photographs, illustrations, post cards, certificates, documents, artwork, trading cards and other memorabilia with rounded corners onto a surface using mounting corners. Particularly, this invention relates to decorative mounting corners that are rounded and can be used to create scrapbooks, photograph albums, mounting boards and other similar display items onto which memorabilia with rounded corners are then removably displayed by slipping the corners of the memorabilia into the decorative mounting corners that have been adhered to the display item in the desired position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods and means have been used to mount memorabilia into photograph albums and scrapbooks. Liquid adhesives have been commonly used for a number of years, but they require considerable care and skill to be used properly. These can be messy and frequently damage the memorabilia the user is trying to preserve.
Other adhesives are liquid activated, requiring some sort of moistening before being used. These adhesives can also be messy and cause damage to the memorabilia.
Non-toxic stick adhesives are also common. These are very easy to use, but can be messy and end up on the memorabilia the user is trying to preserve.
Pressure sensitive adhesives placed on the back side of the memorabilia to be mounted have also been used, but these too have drawbacks. Great care must be taken with pressure sensitive adhesives to ensure that accidental contact between the memorabilia and the adhesive does not occur prior to the memorabilia being properly positioned. Once the memorabilia has come into contact with the pressure sensitive adhesive, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to move or reposition the memorabilia without damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,088 (1976, T. Ohfuji) discloses a photograph mount for an album. The photograph mount is made of a rectangular pasteboard coated with a non-drying adhesive material on both surfaces in the form of lines running parallel to one another and perpendicular to the filing side of the pasteboard. There are also lines of a second non-drying adhesive material near the filing side of the pasteboard running parallel to the filing side of the pasteboard. A synthetic resin film is press-adhered to the adhesive on one side of the pasteboard near the filing edge, then folded around the opposite edge and press-adhered to the adhesive on the other side of the pasteboard. Memorabilia is mounted in this invention by being placed between the non-drying adhesive and the synthetic resin film. However, some plastics are known to cause fading or discoloration to photographs after long periods of time. Additionally, the plastic film can reflect light, making it difficult to view the memorabilia due to glare from lighting in the room.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,569 (1976, M. Chase) discloses a means for mounting memorabilia in an accurate position by using a base with a layer of adhesive on at least one of its surfaces and a sectional release sheet overlying the adhesive. The release sheet is sufficiently thick so that when an initial section of the release sheet is removed, the memorabilia can be moved about on the remainder of the release sheet without adhesively contacting the exposed adhesive until the memorabilia has been accurately positioned. Once the memorabilia is accurately positioned, the memorabilia is pressed into contact with the initially exposed adhesive. The remainder of the release sheet is then removed and the memorabilia is pressed into contact with the remainder of the adhesive. A disadvantage of this device is that once a memorabilia item comes in contact with the adhesive, it is messy and difficult to remove the memorabilia without damage.
Currently, adhesive mounting corners are available, but only in a few colors, such as black, white, silver, gold and clear. Additionally, all the existing mounting corners are designed for mounting square-cornered items.
Therefore, what is needed is a mounting corner with a rounded outside edge portion that generally follows the contour of memorabilia having rounded corners. What is also needed is a mounting corner with a rounded outside edge portion that is self-adhesive. What is further needed is a mounting corner that can add color and/or decorative effect to the items being mounted. What is still further needed is a mounting corner that will not damage the memorabilia and that allows the mounted memorabilia to be easily removed without damage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting corner with a rounded outside edge portion that generally follows the contour of memorabilia having rounded corners.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mounting corner for users of all skill levels to removably mount memorabilia with rounded corners quickly and easily in a desired location in a scrapbook, photograph album or the like, and overcome the difficulties of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mounting corner that can be easily manufactured with archival-safe materials in a variety of colors and designs to add color and decorative effect to the memorabilia being mounted.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide mounting corners of various sizes that can be used to accommodate various sizes and thicknesses of memorabilia.
Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting corner having a layer of archival-safe, self-adhesive material on its bottom surface so as to eliminate the messiness of other types of adhesives.
The present invention achieves these and other objectives by allowing a user to display memorabilia with rounded corners in a non-permanent manner, allowing the memorabilia to be removed without damage.
The present invention is composed of a top piece of material and a bottom piece of material that have been joined together along a portion of their periphery, i.e. their outside edges, forming a pocket for receiving the corners of memorabilia. Both the front piece and the bottom piece have an exterior surface and an interior surface. The interior surface of both the top piece and the bottom piece are facing each other to form the pocket.
The top piece has a front edge and an outside edge with a rounded rear portion that generally follows the contour of round-cornered memorabilia. The top piece may also have a design either printed onto it, cut into it, pressed into it, attached to it, or punched from it to add further decorative effect to the mounted item, as in one preferred embodiment of this invention. Both the front edge and the outside edge of the top piece may be plain, or they may be decorative so as to add an aesthetically pleasing effect to the item being mounted.
The bottom piece also has a front edge and an outside edge with a rounded rear portion that generally follows the contour of round-cornered memorabilia. The bottom piece may have an adhesive layer on its exterior surface to make mounting quick and easy. Further, either the front edge or the outside edge, or both, may be cut into a decorative shape, if desired. The rounded rear portion of the top piece should be cut to the same design and dimension as the bottom piece, so these outside edges are coextensive once joined together.
In the preferred embodiment, the top piece is smaller than the bottom piece so that the front edge of the top piece transects the sealed periphery, along the opening of the pocket. However, both the top piece and the bottom piece may be of equal size, or the bottom piece may be smaller than the top piece. The top piece and bottom piece may be made of any suitable material such as polyethylene, prolypropylene and polyester. The material may be transparent, translucent or opaque.
The front and back pieces may be joined by pressing, heating, solvent bonding, gluing, or by simultaneously pressing them together along their coextensive outside edges while also applying heat to the material at this location. A portion of the sealed periphery of the present invention is rounded to generally follow the contour of memorabilia having rounded edges. The radii of these rounded portions may have any dimension, but preferably are either 0.25 inches or 0.50 inches.
The mounting corners of the present invention may be made in a variety of colors. Examples of some of these colors are blue, green, red, yellow, orange, purple, black, white, silver, gold or clear. These colors can be selected to match the mounting surface, or they can be selected to contrast or complement the mounting surface.
Additional advantages and embodiments of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the descriptions, or may be learned by practice of the invention. References are made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate some preferred forms of the device of the present invention and wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the drawings.